Welcome to Fourth Grade at Brandon Academy. This class continues to enhance the skills covered in the areas of reading, math, writing/spelling, science, and social studies. In addition to these core subjects, students take music, art, computer and physical education. Please see below for more information about each core subject.

Reading - The overall goal for reading in fourth grade is for students to comprehend what they are reading and to learn how to critically examine the material. This is accomplished through the study of chapter books, vocabulary builders, and poetry. Students also have access to a wide variety of literature in the classroom library.

Skills

At the start of fourth grade, students begin to develop:

Reading fluency

Basic comprehension skills

Middle of the YearBy the middle of fourth grade, students are able to

Read independently

Take notes

Comprehend and evaluate age-appropriate content independently

Summarize information

Create illustrations, poetry, essays, and short answers based on read material

Language Arts - The overall goal for language arts in fourth grade is for students to gain experience in narrative, descriptive, persuasive, and expository writing. The focus during the second half of fourth grade is on expanding and organizing different styles of writing. Students should be able to write legibly in print and cursive. Fourth graders begin during the second half of fourth grade to make increased use of typing skills and writing conventions such as indents or spacing after punctuation. Students demonstrate their writing abilities through various informal and formal writing activities, culminating in a group research paper. Students also participate annually in the Scripps Spelling Bee.

Skills

At the start of fourth grade, students are:

Exposed to various forms of writing

Able to expand on complete sentences

Able to write paragraphs and to make revisions with assistance for proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, indentation, and organization

By the middle of fourth grade, students are able to

Write a minimum of four paragraphs with five or more sentences including proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, indentation, and organization

Avoid repetition in word usage and expand use of specific vocabulary

Integrate writing with other subjects

Practice persuasive writing and evaluate debates for strength and accuracy of arguments

Respond to questions in various subjects with fully thought out sentences with descriptive detail

Become familiar with google docs and google slides

Math - The overall goal for math in fourth grade is for students to build on and expand their basic knowledge of addition and subtraction to new areas such as fractions and decimals. Fourth graders expand on their basic understanding of geometry and are able to identify, compare, and describe two and three dimensional figures. Students are also introduced to algebra and gain a basic understanding of exponents, writing expressions, and solving equations. Students also expand on their problem solving and logic skills with a class taught weekly focusing on these skills throughout the year.

Skills

At the start of fourth grade, students:

Should have a basic understanding of multiplication and division

Divide with one and two digit divisors

Add/Subtract fractions with like and unlike denominators, use mixed numbers and write fractions in simplest form

Find the perimeter of polygons and the area of two dimensional quadrilaterals

Describe and construct three dimensional solids including identify the number of faces, edges, and vertices on each

By the end of fourth grade students are able to:

Identify, write, and find the value of exponents

Learn and evaluate expressions using the correct order of operations (PEMDAS)

Write & solve equations

Add/Subtract/Multiply/Divide equations

Graph points on a coordinate plane

Social Studies - The overall goal for social studies in fourth grade is for students to discuss, evaluate, and respond critically to historical Florida content. Students also expand on their basic geographical skills. Students demonstrate their knowledge and practice their skills through projects, tests, discussions, field trips, and writing activities. Students also participate in the annual Geography Bee.

Skills

At the start of fourth grade, students should be able to:

Identify and name the US states and capitals, continents, and oceans

Locate Florida on a map/globe and identify features of Florida

Compare/contrast the first Floridians (tribes)

Research explorers and reasons they came to Florida

Identify how Europeans affected Florida during colonial times

By the middle of fourth grade, students are able to:

Summarize main events that lead to America’s independence

Understand important events that happened leading up to Florida becoming a state (slavery, Seminole Wars)

Summarize the impact the Civil War had on Floridians and what it was like rebuilding Florida after the war

By the end of fourth grade students are able to:

Analyze what lead to the development of Florida (railroads, tourism, agriculture, other industries, immigration)

Describe how the urbanization of Florida lead to growth of cities in the 20thcentury

Summarize how Florida was affected by World War I, The Great Depression, World War II

Identify branches of the United States government

Science - The overall goal for science in fourth grade is for students to discuss, evaluate, and respond to scientific concepts, methods and discoveries. Students expand on scientific concepts through theoretical knowledge and practical application in monthly lab activities. Students demonstrate their knowledge and practice their skills through projects, tests, discussions, field trips, and lab reports.

Skills

At the start of fourth grade, students should be able to:

Become familiar with plants, animals, parts of the body, and cells

Distinguish living and non-living things

Observe and participated in scientific experiments

Understand the three states of matter and the concept of energy as a wave